Matter, Energy, and Life Flashcards
- from the french word environner
- the circumstances/conditions that surround an organisms
- the complex of social/cultural conditions that affect an individual/community
Environment
means to encircle or surround
Environner
- The systematic study of our environment
- Interdisciplinary that integrates natural sciences, social sciences and humanities
Environmental Science
Environmental Science makes us:
- Aware and Appreciate Natural and Built Environment
- Knowledgeable of natural systems
- Understand current environmental issues
- Use Critical Thinking and problem solving skills
Branch of engineering that aims to improve the quality of environment
Environmental Engineering
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Its mission is to improve recycling, waste disposal, public health and water and air pollution control
Environmental Engineers
The builders of wells and aqueducts
Engineers of Antiquity
the term civil engineering was born
Mid 1700s
during this, its major objective was to eliminate the waterborne disease
Late 19th Century
Civil Engineers term in Britain and US that is concerned with the drainage of cities and provision of clean water supplies
- Public Health Engineers (Britain)
- Sanitary Engineers (United States)
Defined as the scientific study of relationships between organisms and their environment
Ecology
foundation of organisms
Carbon-based (organic) compounds
Everything that takes up space and has mass
Matter
Four States of Matter:
- Solid
- Liquid
- Gas
- Plasma
Best example of matter
Water
Matter is intensely heated that causes electron released and particle are ionized (electrically charged)
Plasma
“Matter is Neither created nor destroyed, rather, it is recycled over and over again”
Conservation of Matter
Substances that cannot be broken down into simpler forms by ordinary chemical reactions
Elements
- How many elements are there?
- Natural ones?
- Created under special conditions?
- 122 Elements
- 92 are Natural
- 30 are created
Responsible for more than 96% of the mass of most living organisms
- Oxygen
- Carbon
- Hydrogen
- Nitrogen
Smallest Particles that exhibit the characteristics of an element
Atoms
Atoms consists of?
- Positively Charged?
- Negatively Charged?
- Electrically Neutral?
- Protons
- Electrons
- Neutrons
Are smaller compare to other particles, They orbit the nucleus at the speed of light
Electrons
Have approximately the same mass and clustered in the nucleus
Protons and Neutron
Characteristics number of proton per atom
Atomic Number
Sum of protons and neutrons
Atomic Mass
are forms of an element that differ in atomic mass
Isotopes
are substance composed of different kinds of atoms
Compounds
Are a pair or group of atoms that can exist as a single unit
Molecules
- Atoms gain or lose electrons, it acquires a negative or positively charge
- Are Charged Atoms
Ions
2 types of ions:
- Negatively Charged
- Positively Charged
- Anions
- Cations
substances that readily give up hydrogen ions in water
Acids
substances that readily bond with H+ ions
Bases
describes the strength of an acid and base
pH
was formed by chains and rings of carbon atoms
Organic Compounds
Major Categories of Organic compounds:
- Lipids (fats, oil)
- Carbohydrates (sugar, starches, cellulose)
- Proteins (composed of amino acids)
- Nucleic Acid (DNA and RNA)
- Carry information between cells, tissues and organs and the sources of intracellular energy
- Form long chains of RNA and DNA
Nucleotides
Meaning of:
- RNA?
- DNA?
- Ribo Nucleic Acid
- Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid
(1) Essential for storing? (2) and expressing genetic information
- DNA
- RNA
Four kinds of nucleotides that occur in DNA:
- Adenine
- Guanine
- Cytosine
- Thyamine
Minute Compartments within the processes of life are carried out
Cells
Single Celled Organisms
Bacteria, some Algae and Protozoa
- special classes of proteins that carry out all the chemical reactions required to create various structures
- they are molecular catalyst that provide energy and materials
Enzymes
Multitude of Enzymatic reactions performed by an organisms
Metabolism
Ability to do work
Energy
- heat (calories)
- work (joules)
Energy contained in moving objects
Kinetic Energy
Stored energy is dormant but is available for use
Potential Energy
Stored in the food that you eat and the gasoline that you put into your car
Chemical Energy
Energy that can be transferred
Heat
- a study that deals with the transfer of energy in natural processes
- it deals with the rates of flow and the transformation of energy from one form/quality to another
Thermodynamics
States that energy is conserved
1st Law of Thermodynamics
states that, with each successive energy transfer or transformation in a system, less energy is available to do work
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
- is the process in which bacteria use chemical bonds between inorganic elements
- used by organism that lives in sunless ecosystems
Chemosynthesis
essential to life
Solar Energy
Why solar Energy is essential: (2)
- Sun Provides warmth
- Almost all organisms on Earth surface depend on solar radiation for sustaining energy
converts radiant energy into high quality chemical energy
Photosynthesis
Use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to produce sugars and other organic molecules
Plants
Consumers use oxygen and breakdown sugars during the process called
Cellular Respiration
Refers to all organisms of the same kind that are genetically similar enough to breed in nature and produce live and fertile offsprings.
Species
Consists of all the members of a species living in a given area at the same time
Population
All of the populations living and interacting in a particular area
Biological Community
is composed of a biological community and its physical environment
Ecosystem
nonliving components such as climate, water, minerals and sunlight
Abiotic Factors
Examples are organisms and their products
Biotic factors
Environment includes: (2)
- Abiotic
- Biotic
- One of the major properties of an ecosystem. It is the amount of biomass produced in a given area during a given period of time
Productivity
Types of productivity: (2)
- Primary Productivity - Photosynthesis
- Secondary Productivity - manufacture of biomass by organisms
linked feeding series
Food Chain
Interconnection of individual food chains
Food Web
- An organism’s feeding status in an ecosystem
Trophic Level
(1) Trophic level comes from Greek word? (2) meaning?
- Trophe
- Food
Organisms that photosynthesize, mainly green plants and algae
Producers
organisms that consumes the chemical energy harnessed by the producers
Consumers
Types of Consumers: (3)
- Herbivores (plant)
- Carnivores (flesh)
- Omnivores (both)
Organisms that clean up dead carcasses of larger animals
Scavengers
Consumer litter, debris and dung
Detritivores
- Organisms that completes finals breakdown and recycling of organic materials
- Are second in importance to producers because without their activity, nutrients would remain lock up in the organic compounds of dead organisms
- Decomposer
A graphical representation of the relationship between different organisms in an ecosystem
Ecological Pyramids
trophic levels are represented in ecological pyramids by
Bar
Presents the number of organisms in each trophic level
Pyramid of Numbers
Presents the total mass of organisms at each trophic level
Pyramid of Biomass
- Presents the total amount of energy present at each trophic level, as well as the loss of energy between trophic levels
- examines the flow of energy
Pyramid of Productivity
distributed water among atmosphere, biosphere, surface and ground water
Water cycle
Moving of essential elements ( Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus ) on biological, atmospheric and earth systems
Biogeochemical Cycles
- The path of water through our environment
- Most familiar Material Cycle
Hydrologic Cycle
Responsible for metabolic processes within cells
Water
as water is heated by the sun, surface molecules become sufficiently energized to break free of the attractive force binding them togethwr
Evaporation
Water vapor is emitted from plant leaves by a process called
Transpiration
As water vapor rises, it cools, usually on tiny particles of dust in the air
Condensation
is in the form of rain, snow, and hail that comes from clouds
Precipitation
- Excessive rain or snowmelt can produce overland flow to creeks and ditches
- is visible flow of water in rivers, creeks and lakes as the water stored in the basin drains out
Runoff
Some of the precipitation moves downwards infiltrates through cracks, joints and pores in soil and rocks until it reaches water table
Percolation
- Subterranean water is held in cracks and pore spaces
- can flow to support streams
- can be tapped by wells
Groundwater
is the level at which water stands in a shallow well
Water table
begins with the intake of carbon dioxide by photosynthetic organisms
Carbon Cycles
are incorporated into sugar molecules during photosynthesis
Carbon Atoms
Carbon enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide through: (2)
- Respiration (breathing)
- Combustion (burning)
makes up 78% of our atmosphere
Nitrogen Gas
- Nitrogen compounds that can only be used by plants
- Sources of nitrogen for forming amino acids
- Nitrate (NO3)
- Ammonia (NH4)
Building blocks for complex organic compounds such as proteins
Amino acids
removing of oxygen from nitrate to form gaseous compounds
Denitrification
are especially high in nitrogen because they contain the detoxified wastes of protein metabolism
Urinary Wastes
Gaseous form; corrosive; common agricultural fertilizer that bonds with H+ to form NH4-
Ammonia
Directly Usable by plants; positively charge helps adhere to clay in soils
Ammonium (NH4)
Ion with negatively electrical charge, step in nitrification process
Nitrite
Directly usable by plants; products of nitrification
Nitrate
Diverse compounds such as proteins; must be converted to NH4 for use by plants
Organic Nitrogen
Organic to inorganic transition
Mineralization
Various combinations such as NO2, NO, and N2O; fuel combustion in vehicles and industry produces most NOx
Nitrogen Oxides
Common forms of Nitrogen: (7)
- Nitrogen Gas
- Ammonia
- Ammonium
- Nitrite
- Nitrate
- Organic Nitrogen
- Nitrogen Oxides
is most important among the manu elements released to ecosystem from rock formation because it is often limited in supply
Phosphorus
- an essential component of all cells
- compounds containing thi element store and release great deal of energy
- travels gradually downstream, released into water bodies that deliver it to the ocean.
Phosphorus
primary participants in energy-transfer reaction in cells
ATP
- one way path, has no atmospheric form, in which it can quickly recirculate
- repeatedly through food web
Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus accumulates in
Ocean Sediments
